In order to determine some of the effects of children's television, a study investigated the communicative response repertoire of primary female characters in Saturday morning children's cartoons as perceived by children. Those perceptions were then compared with those of the researchers, formulated through previous studies, showing a relationship…

In a study designed to determine whether experience in day care or preschool affects children's knowledge and enactment of prosocial behaviors, 59 children in day care, preschool, and home care were pre- and post-tested concerning: (1) their understanding of helping, sharing, comforting, honesty, and civic awareness; (2) their definitions of…

The specific purpose of the research discussed was to develop an instrument which would permit assessment of individual and developmental differences in the acquisition of abilities to understand and utilize emotional and psychological facets of interpersonal behavior. Emotional insight was assessed in 81 male and female children between the ages…

New technologically-oriented cartoons have been developed in the 1980s, and they may influence the attitudes and behaviors of their viewing audiences, who are comprised primarily of male children. A study analyzed "The Transformers" television program (a new robotic cartoon consisting of a mixture of violence, technology, space travel,…

Conflict management is a skill best learned early in life, and lays a foundation for the development of future relationships. The present study examined the strategies children use when negotiating roles in a dynamic play situation. Participants were 156 children (M age = 6.5 years) in 39 groups of four, who were videotaped in a play activity that…

This study investigated the development of the concept of a critical search area by means of an action sequence in which a cartoon character loses his toy while walking through his house. The results showed that it is not until ages 7 or 8 that children readily make the inference that the critical area is the only plausible place to search for the…

In this study, the looking behavior of 16 autistic and 14 non-autistic children toward cartoon-like scenes that included a human figure was measured quantitatively using an infrared eye-tracking device. Fixation behavior of autistic children was similar to that of their age-and IQ-matched normal peers. Results do not support the idea that autistic…

Autism Disorder and related disorders such as Asperger's Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified, are collectively known as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). These disorders are currently the fastest growing diagnosed disorders among children and have been found in 110 in 10,000 individuals. Individuals with ASD…

Reports on study employing drawings of high-interest cartoon models to symbolize and teach skills contributing to the social and educational development of children in a child-care center. Results demonstrate such models are effective and feasible agents for positive behavioral change when used within the generalized imitation framework. (CMG)

The authors discuss their replications of 2 prominent studies in the area of modeling aggressive behavior; those of Lovaas and Bandura. In the first, they predicted that, given the same socio-economic background, there would be no differences between black and white children in the amount of aggressive play subsequent to viewing an aggressive…

In an attempt to resist moral panics over children's media consumption, and especially girls' consumption of hyper-sexualised popular media, this paper aims to offer a more positive account of popular culture and young children's, especially girls', engagement with it. By adopting a historical approach to modern childhood and the moral panics…

Through a survey of 41 North Carolina educators, this study investigated teachers' perceptions of the effects of violent television programs on elementary school students' classroom behavior. The research was designed to be descriptive; it employed a 13-item questionnaire which could be completed in about 5 minutes. Subjects were 34 female and 7…

Two studies with a total of 17 children (ages 5-18) with autism tested a picture-in-the-head strategy for dealing with thoughts and behavior using cartoon thought-bubbles to represent various mental states. The thought-bubble training led to the children passing not only false belief tests but also theory of mind tests. (Contains references.)…

An examination was made of the role-taking process with respect to aggressive behavior and sex roles. Ss were 20 boys and 20 girls from a housing project. All were caucasians of low socioeconomic status. Each S was shown 19 cards, each containing a schematic cartoon and involving two major figures in a particular situation. For each card there was…